Why does the Bible say to be like a child, but then to put away childish things?

Problem: Jesus told His followers that they were supposed to become like little children, yet Paul told his readers to stop acting like children.

Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:2–3 [NKJV])
But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:14 [NKJV])
When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. (1 Corinthians 13:11 [NKJV])

How can these seemingly contradictory passages be resolved?
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Problem: “Answer a fool . . . don’t answer a fool.” The Bible is full of claims that are often hard to understand and reconcile. Enemies of God’s Word say these are contradictions. Lovers of God’s Word know the truth—consider “the whole counsel of God.”
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Problem: Does God Condone Polygamy?

1 Kings 11:3
And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart.
1 Timothy 3:2
A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober–minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach
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Problem: We find the parallel account for this teaching in Mark 10:2-12. We will look at the extended version in Matthew, while comparing and contrasting the differences.
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Problem: Jesus said, “Unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 18:3). Does this mean that believers should be naïve and gullible?
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Problem: Why does the Bible say to be like a child, but then to put away childish things?

Jesus told His followers that they were supposed to become like little children, yet Paul told his readers to stop acting like children.
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Problem: The Jewish custom in Jesus’ day was to forgive someone three times—tops. Keener writes, “Judaism also stressed forgiveness, though some teachers saw the need to limit forgiveness to three instances of premeditated sin, pointing out that repentance was otherwise not genuine.”[1] While Peter was thinking that forgiving someone seven times was over the top, Jesus ups his standard to 77 times![2]
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Problem: After Jesus prophesied during His earthly ministry that some would live to see the establishment of God’s kingdom, the first two books of the New Testament indicate six days expired before Peter, James, and John were led up on a high mountain to witness the transfiguration of Jesus (Matthew 16:28-17:2; Mark 9:1-2). Luke’s account, on the other hand, says that Jesus’ transfiguration occurred “about eight days after” Jesus prophesied of the approaching kingdom’s establishment (9:27-29). Skeptics charge that this difference in the time elapsed between the two events constitutes an obvious error. They profess that such textual differences should lead the honest person to admit that the Bible contains contradictions, and thus is not the inerrant Word of God.
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Problems: According to The Skeptics Annotated Bible, in Mark 9:1, “Jesus falsely prophesies that the end of the world will come within his listeners’ lifetimes.” Skeptic Dennis McKinsey calls this prophecy “one of those classic predictions that has haunted his supporters ever since, forcing them to concoct an endless number of rationalizations to explain its failure.”
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Problem: Did Jesus fail to correctly predict that people standing with Him would “not taste death” until they saw the arrival of the kingdom of God? The answer is, of course, no, He did not fail. There are two reasons why what Jesus said did not fail. First, let’s examine the scriptures under consideration.
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